Bethlehem, PA | 42,000 SF | LEED NC Gold Certified & LEED CI Gold Certified | Award of Merit, AIA Eastern Pennsylvania
Lehigh Valley Industrial Park’s new green office building marks the gateway to the non-profit organization’s latest development, LVIP VII, and is located on the 1000-acre site that once housed Bethlehem Steel. Spillman Farmer Architects worked with the owner to create a state-of-the-art sustainable green building that would provide Class A office space in a premier location in the Valley.The 42,000 square foot office building boasts numerous environmentally friendly design concepts and features. For example, the building is oriented to take advantage of natural daylight yet minimize heat gain and solar glare. To improve energy efficiency and occupants’ comfort, sun shades on the south facade and high performance windows, walls, and roof were included. To ensure high indoor environmental quality for the occupants, no-and low-VOC paints, adhesives, and sealants were used. Energy-saving lighting and water-saving fixtures are also incorporated in the facility. In addition, more than 20% of the building materials are composed of recycled content and more than 30% of materials were manufactured locally or regionally (within 500 miles of the site). The LVIP Office Building is also recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s EnergySTAR program as having been “Designed to Earn the EnergySTAR,” designating it among the top 25% of office buildings in terms of energy efficiency.
During the design process, Spillman Farmer Architects decided to locate its offices in this new building and create an exciting new home – one that would support the open, creative, and team-oriented approach the firm takes to architectural design. The team also chose to make their new home green, using environmentally sound strategies throughout its design and construction. Spillman Farmer Architects’ office applies many of the same green design strategies as are used in the core & shell building, but with a distinctly architectural approach. In SFA’s offices, building materials are emphasized and revealed to highlight their beauty and inherent sustainability. For example, the reception area and conference rooms boast a striking concrete floor. This concrete is an inherent structural element in the building (and almost every commercial building) but rather than covering it up, the design team simply left the concrete exposed and finished it with a sealant that releases no harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The reception area features furniture crafted from reused steel I-beams salvaged from an old Bethlehem Steel building. Some of the beams bear the Bethlehem Steel rolling stamp, a nod to the history of the site and the City of Bethlehem.
Both the LVIP Office Building and Spillman Farmer Architects’ office space have been designed and constructed using the United States Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized standard for what constitutes a green building. The building is LEED® Gold certified under the Core and Shell (LEED CS®) rating system. Spillman Farmer Architects’ office also achieved LEED® Gold certification under the Commercial Interiors (LEED CI®) rating system.
